md United States
Member #14,047
April 20, 2005
627 Posts
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Hello LP Family-
I know we have all types of polls and subject post, so I realise this may have been covered. However, I am not on the site 24/7, so bare with me.
I'm thinking of buying California Lottery tickets. What I'd like some feedback on is, does anyone knows if an out of state person has purchased and won lotteries after having purchased their tickets online?
United States
Member #28,408
December 15, 2005
1,200 Posts
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it's risky dels, what's to stop these folks from taking your ticket and running off? You have to sue to get your money? and they could just leave the country.
United States
Member #30,476
January 17, 2006
110 Posts
Offline
Hello LP Family-
I know we have all types of polls and subject post, so I realise this may have been covered. However, I am not on the site 24/7, so bare with me.
I'm thinking of buying California Lottery tickets. What I'd like some feedback on is, does anyone knows if an out of state person has purchased and won lotteries after having purchased their tickets online?
Thanks
That is a great question. I play betslips on jackpots I wish I had some info for you
United States
Member #30,476
January 17, 2006
110 Posts
Offline
Hello LP Family-
I know we have all types of polls and subject post, so I realise this may have been covered. However, I am not on the site 24/7, so bare with me.
I'm thinking of buying California Lottery tickets. What I'd like some feedback on is, does anyone knows if an out of state person has purchased and won lotteries after having purchased their tickets online?
Thanks
That is a great question. I play betslips on jackpots I wish I had some info for you
New Jersey United States
Member #1
May 31, 2000
27,929 Posts
Offline
it's risky dels, what's to stop these folks from taking your ticket and running off? You have to sue to get your money? and they could just leave the country.
That issue has been covered many, many times here. I think you are focusing on the wrong risk. Lottery jackpots are very publicly paid out over a somewhat lengthy process, and there is plenty of time to legally intervene in the case that someone tried to "take your ticket and run off", as you say.
By the way, where would they be running off to? Are you thinking that they would see a jackpot-winning ticket and destroy it? Or are you thinking they would sneak into Lottery headquarters and secretly redeem it?
If you think about it, either scenario is highly unlikely.
What you should be worried about is the service really buying you lottery tickets in the first place! I have stated numerous times here at LP that there are some highly-visible services that don't even buy the tickets: thelotter.com and lotteryuniverse.com.
Can you image beating the odds of 176 million-to-one, only to find out that there is no ticket to claim? This is what I keep telling people, which is why I'm posting this again. Don't think with you heart, think with your head -- logically.
Some of the key things to look out for on a service web site, to see if they are really buying your tickets:
Small print indicating that they have a maximum payout. (For example, lottery universe's maximum payout is $1 million, even if you win a $400 million Powerball jackpot.)
Look for some kind of insurance company logos or statements on the web site. The unscrupulous sites that don't buy tickets try to hide behind some kind of notion that an insurance company is going to pay you a $400 million jackpot "in case" they don't actually buy the ticket. What a crock! Can you imagine any insurance company willing to pay out a $400 million jackpot?! It would never happen. Those web sites may not even be paying for the insurance they claim, for all you know.
The number of games available for purchase is a biggie. thelotter.com supposedly offers every single jackpot game in the entire United States. Do you think they actually have purchasing agents in every single state? That kind of unreasonable business model is a clear tipoff that they are not actually purchasing tickets.
The cutoff time: how long do you think is reasonable between the time a website stops accepting orders and when the state lottery stops selling tickets for that drawing? Any site that stops taking orders 5 minutes, or even 1 hour, before the drawing takes place is clearly not allowing enough time to take their orders fill out all the play slips, go to a lottery retailer, and finally make the purchase. I would say that a reasonable amount of time would be at least 3-4 hours, maybe longer, in order to accommodate big jackpot drawings, where the number of orders will increase. Don't forget, the service has to stand in line, just like you would.
The price is another biggie. Contrary to what you may think, there are lots of costs involved in running a lottery service, so any service offering to get you tickets for a quarter extra per ticket, or a dollar extra for you whole order, or something like that, would not be able to keep their business afloat for long.
There is no infallible way to determine the risks, but take it from someone who has done countless hours of research in this area: review the points above, and you will weed out a lot of the bad sites. There are good sites to use, which is why Lottery Post is careful to only link to sites that have been checked out.
United States
Member #28,408
December 15, 2005
1,200 Posts
Offline
No one here loves anyone more than we love you todd. I was speaking specifically about betslips.com. Their website clearly states there is no guarantee they will not run off with the tickets. I have no issue with the fact that they buy the tickets. I am a member there. They are what they say they are. But they point out this very issue when it comes to the jackpot games.
New Jersey United States
Member #1
May 31, 2000
27,929 Posts
Offline
No one here loves anyone more than we love you todd. I was speaking specifically about betslips.com. Their website clearly states there is no guarantee they will not run off with the tickets. I have no issue with the fact that they buy the tickets. I am a member there. They are what they say they are. But they point out this very issue when it comes to the jackpot games.
I just checked out their FAQ page, and I don't think you read it correctly. You should read it again. It states the reasons why they cannot "run off" with your ticket, it does not say anything about "no guarantee" of running off with it. When I read what they have to say it comes off as being very up-front about issues everyone thinks about, which is something I haven't seen many other places.
United States
Member #28,408
December 15, 2005
1,200 Posts
Offline
you are right. my apologies. they are up front, that is what I like about them. they are what they say they are. can't ask for much more than that. so maybe it IS okay to play jackpot games there. Hmmmmm.....
New Mexico United States
Member #12,305
March 10, 2005
2,984 Posts
Offline
Hello LP Family-
I know we have all types of polls and subject post, so I realise this may have been covered. However, I am not on the site 24/7, so bare with me.
I'm thinking of buying California Lottery tickets. What I'd like some feedback on is, does anyone knows if an out of state person has purchased and won lotteries after having purchased their tickets online?
Thanks
Seems okay so long as you don't get a big win. If you do, you're depending on the honesty of strangers.
md United States
Member #14,047
April 20, 2005
627 Posts
Offline
WOW! Interesting discussion. Wothwhile information. I think I'll opt, not to buy tickets online. I'd hate to have a lengthy court battle on one front or another, either suing or shooting someone over swindling me. I'm trying to live smarter, not stupid. Thanks